Department of Justice

Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAMES BROWN, 35, of New Haven, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 180 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 28, 2012, New Haven Police responded to a 911 call of a domestic dispute involving a weapon. Officers arrived at the identified residence and BROWN, who was in the bedroom, was taken into custody. A subsequent search of the bedroom revealed a loaded Smith and Wesson revolver hidden under the mattress of the bed.

BROWN’s extensive criminal history includes convictions for unlawful restraint in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, robbery in the third degree, and sale of a controlled substance. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

BROWN has been detained since his arrest on December 28, 2012. On June 4, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.

BROWN was sentenced pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act, a federal law imposing severe penalties for firearm or ammunition possession by persons who have been convicted of at least three violent felonies or serious drug offenses. A defendant who qualifies as an Armed Career Criminal faces a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of life.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony E. Kaplan.